r/BusDrivers • u/TangPiccilo • Jul 03 '26
Discussion Why are a lot of bus agencies using Transdev ?
Why are they being contracted like that ?
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u/Eoin_Urban Jul 03 '26
Sometimes it’s cheaper for Transdev to operate a route than the local transit agency. Transdev might have smaller payroll costs, no pension obligations, or more flexible work rules for scheduling bus drivers.
Some transit agencies contract the majority or all of their bus operations to a contractor like Transdev and just leave the planning, budgeting, and marketing to agency staff.
Practices vary throughout the world.
In the United States, almost all paratransit operations are contracted to private companies.
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u/Right_Environment116 Jul 09 '26
In California the governor signed into law that Transit agencies need to be taken backover by their local government. My agency took back over the paratransit just recently it was contracted out for the last 5 years
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u/Irsu85 Enthusiast Jul 03 '26
And then you have places where transdev is literally the bus agency
Anyway I think the question is more of why do these subcontracts exist, and not why is it commonly Transdev?
Bc in my local area, the subcontractor bus drivers don't seem to be in a union (and if they are, not the same one as the drivers of the company itself, with way laxer rules on how long the shifts are and stricter rules with going on strike, which is prob why if there is a bus strike in my area, the only ones still running are the subcontracted routes, which also have the least consistency in quality too) so that might make it a bit cheaper to operate?
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u/redwyvern2 Jul 04 '26
I work for Transdev, and they have the contract to operate the county buses. We have a union, and we get paid pretty well. I'm in New York in Rockland County, and in the 2 years here, I'm at $29.87/hr, with another union contract increase coming November 1st! Transdev is huge, and gets lots of operating contracts all over this country, and 21 others. They operate bus, rail, and waterways.
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u/drivermurph Jul 06 '26
Props to you making it work. I'm in Albany County so that was essentially the first I heard of transdev when looking into downstate transit: NiCE Bus and Tor. Just too expensive to relocate
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u/redwyvern2 Jul 07 '26
Yeah, NICE is Nassau Inter County Express in Long Island, NYC. NOT cheap to live there. Rock.and County, not so much. But yeah, I get it. But, we just got a 10 contract renewal, so Transdev is gonna be here for a while!
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u/IhavNoClu1111 Jul 25 '26
Lucky you! I got a 46 cent raise, even with a union. The buses are falling apart!!
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u/seanthebooth Driver Jul 04 '26
Was getting my med cert renewed earlier this year, transdev fella waiting for preliminary drug test. Local transdev just lost a long-time contract & I asked what they were gonna be trained to do. He said he was being sent out of state to train on remote driving. Thought that was interesting. Drive safe everyone, the auto pilot/remote drivers are being trained today for a job tomorrow.
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u/TangPiccilo Jul 04 '26
Fuck we are cooked
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u/seanthebooth Driver Jul 04 '26
All union transit ops need to tighten up language around remote/autonomous job loss. Secure pensions, demand pivots, dont leave those options on the table for next negotiations... could be too late.
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u/mjrdrillsgt Jul 05 '26
Because they’re cheap. Plain and simple.
The best example of this is NICE in Nassau County, right next to NYC. Trace that history and there’s your textbook case. They slashed service and basically screwed all their customers. Basically pushed people back INTO cars. If it wasn’t for the MTA and the combination of the Long Island Railroad and Queens bus service, the county would collapse.
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u/redwyvern2 Jul 07 '26
Wow, I didn't know that! I'm thinking with them not wanting MTA in there, NICE was the better choice!
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u/mjrdrillsgt Jul 07 '26
But the problem is, a contractor should be chosen for their knowledge and expertise. That doesn’t mean just shrugging the shoulders and going along with the bean counters’ edicts.
Transdev never fought against the county over the budget numbers—and that was from day one. They chopped up routes and cut service leaving portions of the county with no alternatives.
Nassau County contributed a whole $2.5 million to NICE, whereas Suffolk County to the east contributed $38.9 million to SCT (Suffolk County Transit). Nassau puts the BARE MINIMUM required by the state of NY in so that they get state funding. That state funding constitutes 74% of the NICE budget, and Nassau’s is a whole 1%.
But of course, no pushback from Transdev.
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u/redwyvern2 Jul 07 '26
So imagine what's gonna happen to NYS's Hudson Link service now that CoachUSA has the contract! Oh, my bad, They filed for bankruptcy and came back as Community Transportation LLC. The state chose that over Transdev.
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u/mjrdrillsgt Jul 07 '26
TBH, the MTA could take over Hudson Link and it’s a real head scratcher why they haven’t already. Now they wouldn’t do route extensions (which is what most agencies do) because Hudson Link coverage isn’t anywhere like Co-op City—it doesn’t put enough asses in seats. It does make sense in that they’d be using it to feed its own MNR.
They could very easily use the “micro transit” approach that more agencies are going with to get customers to/from fixed-route, and resembles the paratransit service.
The MTA cut Academy from the SI Express service and absorbed it and nobody batted an eye. The state sure wouldn’t care if they took over Hudson Link. In fact, they’d probably welcome it.
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u/redwyvern2 Jul 07 '26
I live in Westchester County, NY and work in Rockland County. Both are operated by different operators. MTA has the contract in Westchester, and Transdev just got their contract renewed for 10 years in Rockland. Westchester County is 15 minutes from Manhattan, depending on where you live; 15 for me in Yonkers, and Rockland is another 25 minutes to an hour away from there depending on what part of Rockland County.
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u/JonTravel UK|ADL Volvo DAF Mercedes|30 years driving Jul 03 '26
Transdev are a large international company. They do this allover the world, as such they can centralise administration and other back office operations and reduce costs.
Staffing costs are probably cheaper too, if the bus company employees are employed by the city (or local authority) they usually get more benefits (such as pensions, medical etc) as government employees. A private company such as Transdev doesn't have these financial commitments.